The Renal Patients Association is urging the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to reconsider its decision to cover free dialysis treatment exclusively for patients under 18 and those over 60, as they believe this initiative targets the wrong age group.
Kojo Bafffour Ahenkorah, President of the Association, expressed concerns on ABC IN THE MORNING, emphasizing that the statistics behind this policy do not accurately reflect the needs of the majority of dialysis patients.
“The above 60 years very few, children below 18 years very few.
“The large number is between those above 18 to 50 years, and that is were the problem is. And that age group is getting 2 session out of the 8 sessions every month. Its very insignificant,” he stated, highlighting that the majority suffering from renal issues lies between the ages of 18 and 50.
Speaking on how sustainable the program can run, he added “If Kenyans can do dialysis for free, why can’t we do it?”
He added that the numbers of patients are “not that scary, we can do it,” he called that government purport to implementing a free dialysis for all citizens.
“Its sustainable, and we can do it. We are less than 2 million.”
His comment follows the NHIA announcing that it will cover the cost of dialysis treatment for patients under the age of 18 and those above 60. This move is being hailed as a vital step in supporting the most vulnerable renal patients, but it also raises questions about the long-term sustainability of such a program.
This follows Parliament’s approval of an amount of Two Million Ghana Cedis (GH¢2,000,000.00) in the NHIA’s 2024 Allocation Formula to support needy and vulnerable patients seeking dialysis treatment.
In a statement issued and signed by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the NHIA, Dr Da-Costa Aboagye, said the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) through administrative arrangements has allocated an additional Two Million, four hundred thousand Ghana Cedis (GH¢2,400,000.00), under the Corporate Social Responsibility approved budget of the scheme to support this initiative.
The initiative, which will cost government GHC4.4 million according to the National Health Insurance Authority, seeks to bring some relief to the patients.
He explained that the announcement is a significant enhancement to its health benefits coverage to include dialysis patients for a period of 6 months.
As of Thursday, August 22, the NHIA had spent a total amount of GH¢1,588,565.00 on the free dialysis programme since its inception in June. The six health facilities benefiting from this programme are the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital (ENRH), Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH), Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH).
It needs mentioning that prior to these developments, there had been worrying concerns over the surge in dialysis cost, escalating from GH¢380 to GH¢491.
This increment triggered calls from renal patient association for gov’t support as this exacerbated the financial strain on patients already struggling to manage previous bills until Parliament took it up for consideration.
While this initiative is a laudable one, the pressing question still remains; is this a sustainable intervention, or could it become a burden on government resources in the foreseeable future? Or, could it even be a subtle political incentive to sway voter decisions ahead of the impending 2024 elections?
